Desperate Measures
by Mint-Chocolate-Leaves
Summary: Lily Marie Potter is dead. James will do anything that he can in order to bring her back... no matter how the consequences seem to mark their way. However will James be able to bring someone back from the dead, without losing the part of himself that distinguishes him between good and bad? Can James Potter cheat death?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: So... I thought that maybe I would write a full time fan-fic, and so I came up with this idea! Well... here we are, and here we go... Reviews are appriciated, flames will be ignored while eating chocolate :/ Take care!_

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**Chapter One**

**'James'**

With his hood raised up, and his wand hoisted behind his ear, James Potter stumbled slowly across the road and into the turning into Godric's Hollow. With a small smile on his face, he noticed that the street was completely empty –the children who had once been trick or treating retiring to bed for the night.

James couldn't believe how long he had been walking for – his wife Lily had yelled at him earlier for some reason that he couldn't remember, and after he had stormed out – James had made his way to the nearest pub – the lion.

If there wasn't something more that he liked right after an argument with someone than going to the pub and drinking his worries away, then James was sure they hadn't invented it yet.

Pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it was his wand, James slowly stumbled even further down the street, inhaling the smoke that was whirling around him with a relaxed expression on his face.

Nowadays, James Potter found it extremely hard to find a way to relax, if he was home it was always 'Look after Harry' his one year old son, and anytime he wasn't drunk he was always worrying about the safety of his family who had been targeted by Voldemort and his death eaters, which was often.

After several minutes, James realised he was walking down the wrong end of the street, down the opposite direction of his home.

Laughing quietly to himself, James smiled as he turned and made his way slowly down the road, to where his house was located.

Looking up at the sky, he swore he saw a flying motorcycle, much like the one his best friend Sirius owned, flying away from his house. James chuckled at the irony – after all, Sirius didn't have a reason to visit them on this night, after all it wasn't as if Voldemort knew where they were, Peter Pettigrew, one of his other best friends hadn't sold them out to Voldemort.

James smiled at the thought of his friends, as he continued to stumble down the street, he was, as many Muggles would have said – completely hammered.

At some point, James tripped over his own foot, and as he struggled to stand up again, he suddenly felt himself laugh slightly again. He was sure that he must sound deranged, but he couldn't help but smile even more at the concept of what he must look like at the second.

When he regained his footing he slowly resumed his walk home, stopping outside his house with a blank expression on his face.

"I dint turn ta' eater on..." He slurred as he looked up at the house which was burned into ruins, he frowned slightly, as a cold wind blew his hood down, causing his glasses to almost fall off of his face. Luckily however, alcohol hadn't ridden him of his chaser skills as much as it did many others, "I'm shurr o' it."

After a while, he happened to shrug at the sight of the burned down building, slowly staggering into the building, lighting another cigarette, with a content look on his face.

Everything happened so quickly then, a black haired man with short hair rushed down the stairs, his wand raised, as he shouted a disarming spell at James.

James immediately recognised the man as his best friend Sirius Black, and smiled slightly as he flicked some of the ash off of his cigarette,

"Hey Padfoot," He slurred, stumbling slightly, as he looked at the house around him, "I dint do this,"

Sirius immediately rushed towards James, looking at him with a blank expression, even if his wand was still aimed at James,

"Who was your first kiss, and what year were we in?" He asked, as way of greeting, causing James to roll his eyes, and slur in response,

"Rosie, second year, what's this all about Pads?"

Sirius frowned slightly, as he looked at James with a slightly confused look,

"You don't smoke, why are you smoking?"

James grinned slightly as he flicked some of the ash onto the floor, before looking up at Sirius as he added,

"Muggles sold me 'em, pretty good price an 'all. I think you'd like to buy from 'em."

Sirius didn't return James smile, instead looking at James with few tears down his face as he introduced James into the matter at hand,

"Lily's dead, and Dumbledore's taken Harry."

The alcohol that had been affecting James' mind seemed too immediately thin out, allowing James to sober up immediately. His heart immediately went cold, and a shiver ran up his spine.

He tried to ignore the fact that his head had already started to pound in the back of his head as he stared at Sirius with a blank expression that Lily would have laughed at before teasing him with.

"What?" James asked, his voice no longer a slur, as he blinked not once, but twice at Sirius, "Lily... dead, and Harry... gone?"

Sirius nodded slowly, as he whispered something that James couldn't make out, his whole world had crashed before him and within seconds he was on his knee's sobbing into his hands.

Quickly however, James stood up as quickly as possible, closing his eyes as he wiped his tears away, before he apparated away without as much as a word. He couldn't think properly, and within seconds, he was running down another street, up to a door.

He knocked on it despite all the anguish he felt, and within seconds he came face to face with the man he hated with so much of a school boy grudge, Severus Snape himself.

"What do you want Potter?" Snape snarled looking at the Black haired man with a glare, "Want to boast about the fall of the dark lord?"

James shook his head with a strain on his features as he begged,

"It's Lily, she's dead – please make a potion to do something, anything. Use something to do with Phoenix's or at least something! I'd do anything for her, just don't let her be dead! I can't... live.. without her..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**'Lily'**

"It's not going to work!" The words entered Lily Rose Potter's mind as if she was dreaming. She didn't realise what was going on because the last time she had thought about it – she had had the green light of the Avada Kedevra curse flying at her.

"Calm down Potter, it's going to work – it's a very old and complicated potion, mixed with a very complex spell. She's not going to fully wake up until you do what I told you."

The words of her childhood best friend, Severus Snape drifted into her subconscious, making Lily suddenly more aware of her surroundings. It seemed as if she was back at home, in Godric's, other than the fact that her house was now in ruins rather than in its usual tidy surroundings.

"You promise me that you won't tell anyone about what I have to do?" Her husband's voice sounded uncertain and slightly scared, something that had she been fully conscious Lily would have asked him about, a frown on her face with a worried look in her eyes.

"I may have a feud with you Potter, and even if the act you have to do next is worthy of Azkaban, I can assure you that I will never tell a soul without your permission."

Had Lily been fully conscious she would have frowned and glared at her husband until he had caved and told her about what he was about to do. Though this time, Lily wasn't so sure whether she wanted to know what he was going to do worthy of Azkaban.

"Would you do an unbreakable vow to ensure your promise? Snape I know you love Lily somewhat and I doubt that you would keep your promise if it meant giving you the chance to steal her away from me, in order to have her yourself." James spoke with a slight growl in his voice,

"Of course Potter, we'll do it right now if you must, but then you shall have to go and do your task. I only want Lily to be happy, and if she has to live with a blood traitor like you in order to live the way she needs to, then I shall not take any part in it."

Lily wondered what would have James so worked up about their relationship, and Azkaban, but also on the same fact she also felt slightly upset that she herself was the main reason of it.

"Fine..." James whispered, before a moment later speaking with a much more confident voice, "Do you promise that you'll never speak a word any of the things we've had to do in these past three weeks?"

To Lily, it sounded as if James was a priest, wedding Snape and himself – though she knew now that it was an unbreakable vow. She had never seen one before, but she was almost certain that she had read once that you could see whether or not someone was using one of those vows on their wrists...

"Of course I do Potter, and in return, do you promise that you'll always do whatever you can to keep Lily happy – and safe, and promise to never tell her about how I love her?"

Had Lily been able to, she would have gone wide eyed and tried to look at Snape when he said that he loved her.

"Alright, I promise, I'll never tell anyone, ever." James' voice sounded confident, and Lily wished she could hear his voice over the sound of the silence that now washed over her mind.

"I'd better be off now, and... uh... Snape – thanks for saving Lily's life." James finally spoke through the silence, "And don't worry, you can go back to hating me now."

There was a small chuckle that Lily knew to be Snapes, something that she had used to hear a lot before they had both joined Hogwarts,

"Of course I shall Potter, I'm going to leave now as well," Snape informed James, "She'll wake about half an hour after you've done the deed. Be there for her, being fully conscious might overwhelm her."

Lily felt as if she had been sleeping for hours, and as she opened her eyes she felt as if the light that was seeping through the curtains was about to burn out her eye sockets.

She had been expecting to see a ruined house – but instead she saw the bright colours of a room she had never been in before.

As soon as she sat up, she felt a sudden pounding in her head, as if she was slightly light headed, and within seconds she could hear the sound of sizzling bacon, along with the smell,

"Lils, honey, come and get some breakfast; else Harry will eat all the bacon!" She heard James shout from down the stairs, and within seconds she had made her way to her feet, running down the stairs as quickly as possible.

Within seconds she had run into James, catching him off guard and hugging him with a smile edged onto her face.

"Morning honey," James said with a smile, "I thought you would wake earlier than this so I thought I might ruin the surprise of breakfast – but you slept in!"

Lily laughed slightly as she let go of James looking over at Harry, who was sitting in his high chair, looking at his parents with innocent eyes, and a ketchup stained smile.

Lily smiled slightly, and let out another small laugh when James sighed and rushed over to Harry saying,

"I swear this boy has an infatuation with tomato ketchup. He's going to go red because of it! He'll be accepted into Gryffindor without hesitation!"

Harry looked over at Lily with a new found smile, and his hands went out in attempts to grab his mother.

"Mama!" He shrieked in joy, causing Lily to immediately rush over to him with anticipation, "Mama!"

James looked up from Harry and at Lily with a smile, as if he was relieved that Harry wanted his mother rather than him, before he spoke with a calm voice,

"Moony and Padfoot are coming over for lunch if you're okay with it... I said it would be fine." He said as he walked over to the kitchen, picking up two plates from the side and passing one over to Lily as he placed a kiss on her forehead, "I love you Lils, so please take that into consideration before you say whether or not they can come over."

Lily smiled, as she took a bite out of her bacon – she always loved the way James could only cook a fry up and make cups of teas. It seemed to be the only cooking skills he possessed.

"They can't come over anyway. We're under the protection of the fidellious charm–" She started, before catching notice of the fact that James' face had darkened considerably,

"We're not in Godric's anymore Lils," He spoke quietly, "Peter betrayed us and Voldemort came after us. But Harry, as awesome as he is, found a way to defeat him – the world hasn't heard from Voldemort in over three weeks,"

Lily's eyes widened, as she quickly looked over at the calendar, and then looking around the room of the kitchen – only just realising that she was no longer in Godric's Hollow,

"But I don't remember..." She muttered, causing James to smile slightly,

"I wasn't in the house at the time," He started, "Because of our argument, do you remember that?"

When Lily nodded slowly, James continued,

"Well, when I came back Godric's was in ruins, Harry was upstairs in his cot, crying and you were by the wall on the floor – I thought you were dead Lily, but you'd just hit your head too hard. St. Mungo's put you under a treatment to heal the wound, but they said that you'd wake up soon enough and that waking you up before you woke up wouldn't be good."

Lily nodded again, blankly, as she looked around the dining room at the pictures of James, Harry and herself, looking at them in awe – she hadn't realised that James had gotten their newest Photo's developed.

"Well, at least no one died, right?" She replied with a smile, as she took another bite from her bacon.

She was lucky not to realise the grief-stricken look in James eyes as he replied,

"Yeah, we're lucky like that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**'James'**

James didn't want to think about how his best friends Sirius and Remus would react when they discovered about Lily's life, but he knew eventually they would have to figure out... so he planned on inviting them around while he was at his best – cherishing the fact that his wife was alive and well, instead of brooding on what he had done.

Looking down at his wrist, James tried not to frown at how intense the colour his veins were. The stag Animagus however did not feel anything other than a giddy butterfly feeling in his stomach, as he traced his veins with his index finger.

Knowing it wasn't as big of a deal as he was making it out to be – the brightening of his veins due to his unbreakable vow with Snape; he smiled slightly, before walking down the stairs walking into the room where Lily sat holding Harry in her arms.

"You're a beautiful, beautiful woman Lily." James spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice – a sadness that he did not know had possessed him until it had twisted his mind into speaking words he had not intended to say. He was looking at his wife with loving eyes, his smile on his face – though he knew he appeared to be grieving silently.

"You're a handsome, handsome man as well James, what's up?" Lily spoke with such an understanding expression that James immediately felt guilt explode through his veins – the very same veins that held his promise to Snape – _Make sure Lily stays happy._

Lily seemed to be empathising with James – feeling upset and suddenly, he felt as if he was burning from the inside out, a feeling that he did not like the feeling of at all.

"Oh, nothing Lils, I was just thinking about how you nearly died – I should have been there that night flower... I should have been there to protect you both – but I wasn't... It's alright now though, we're fine – so honey, please smile because I love you,"

The burning feeling slowly left James, and he quickly stood up as he rushed into the kitchen looking at the pans with a slightly hysterical look as he clutched his side with his hand, the thought of 'What on earth?' entering his head, in a more inappropriate chose of words.

"James?" Lily's voice called from the living room, "I'm pretty sure I know how to cook pasta!"

Pasta – Lily was right, James didn't have even the slight idea how to cook such a dish, but he figured that the excuse was better than most, and so as he straightened up, running a hand through his hair he re-entered the room with a smile,

"I just wanted to learn how to cook Pasta, looking to make sure I knew how it should look after five minutes."

He tried not to notice the small frown Lily wore on his forehead, as he felt the small burning in his arms again, as he joined her on the couch again, before he let out a sigh,

"I'm sorry Lils, I didn't want to tell you, but I went out to have a biscuit... I mean when Pads and Moony are over I don't want them to steal all of the custard creams 'cause we only have three or four left, and so... I'm sorry – I'm ruthless."

Lily laughed, and once again the burning sensation left James' arms, where he had concealed the slightly white mark left from his and Snape's vow. Soon, James thought, he would come to regret making such an impulsive chance, but for now however he was too caught up in the fact that his wife was alive to care at all...

"Do you think I care about custard creams James?" Lily laughed, "It's when you start taking Jaffa Cakes I'm going to start getting angry with you."

James laughed lightly, before hearing a knock on the door. He supposed it was Remus and Sirius, for the fact that neither one was stupid enough to go anywhere alone since the downfall of Voldemort – after all several death eaters had still not been caught by Aurors yet.

Standing up with a blank expression, James blinked profoundly before turning to Lily with a false smile plastered onto his face,

"I'll answer the door – why don't you go check on the pasta? I think I saw it boiling over when I looked at it?" James seemed not to even register the weight behind his words until Lily had nodded and walked right out of the front room and into the kitchen.

Quickly James rushed to the door, opening it to see the saddened faces of both Remus and Sirius, as he'd expected. Remus was looking at James with benign smile; however Sirius was looking at James with almost tearful eyes.

"How are you dealing with things?" Remus asked from the front porch, while he watched James lean on the door frame looking at them with a smile. Sirius however looked over at James cautiously as if he noticed something 'off' with his best friend.

"I'm doing completely fine, you know? I cut the grass today, made breakfast for everyone – and I also painted Harry's nursery red – you know about his little infatuation with ketchup. I'm hoping it's a phase you know – _mayonnaise is so much better_." James spoke without as much as a single hint of sadness in his voice, baffling his best friends.

"Prongs – what we mean is... how are you coping with Lily being... you know... dead?" Sirius asked slowly, as if wondering how long the current conversation topic would endure.

"Lily isn't dead guys, she hit her head, went unconscious – I took her to St. Mungo's and now we're fine, because she didn't die. Why don't you come on in guys, you're letting all the hot air out."

Hesitantly the two stepped into the house, and within seconds James knew that the two of them thought that he was grieving – living in his very own illusion where his wife was living and surprisingly upbeat.

"Lily's making some meal with Pasta in it." James told them slowly, "You all know I'm in love with pasta, and how I can't cook it – don't you?"

The two of them nodded slightly, before Sirius broke their awkward silence as he spoke,

"Lily is dead James; I checked she didn't have a pulse."

James frowned again – unaware of the manic gleam in his eyes as he replied,

"If she's dead – then how is she in the kitchen preparing a meal Padfoot?" He spoke slowly as if trying to explain to a five year old why they shouldn't run with scissors, "I'm sure that my wife is pretty much alive thanks."

Remus seemed to flinch back at James' tone of voice, as if it caused him harm, but James barely noticed as his eyes locked onto Sirius' with a hostile expression.

"How then Prongs?" Remus asked gently, "How can Lily possible be alive when she didn't have a pulse, or how she wasn't breathing when Sirius was at Godric's Hollow? How could someone still be alive after that?"

James broke his scathing glare off of Sirius and brought a frown over to Remus instead,

"As I said, she hit her head – lost a lot of blood, became unconscious, due to her loss of blood she had a weak pulse. It's not a hard concept to understand guys." James spoke with a shrug,

"But it's a very hard concept to understand James..." The voice came from Lily who was standing in the alcove between the living room and the dining room, and James' eyes suddenly widened as he looked at his wife, who was nearly tearing up.

"Lily... I..." James started, once he felt himself burning alive once again, "I..."

"All I remember before blacking out James," She continued once she had realised that her husband wasn't going to elaborate, "Is Voldemort casting the killing curse at me, it was green James and I heard him say the words, so don't pretend nothing happened..."

James looked between his wife and his friends, closing his eyes as his pain showed on his face – he just hoped that no one would place it for physical pain, and instead maim it as mental pain instead.

"I wasn't there Lily, it must have missed you – you hit your head, that's all I know alright?" James started, as he stood up quickly and walked over to Lily with a broken expression, "If that curse had hit you, you wouldn't be here. There's no way to bring a person back from the dead, I know because I tried to bring my mother back when she died, remember?"

Lily nodded briefly, as she hugged James, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. James hugged her back with a sharp smile – until her noticed his right hand... and how the veins in his arms seemed to be brighter that they recently had been...

He also noticed how his hand seemed to be actually burning, already a pale red...


End file.
